Manhole device



April 7, 1942. l H. scHoRl-:R

MANHOLE DEVICE Filed Nov. 25, 1938 3 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR HERMAN 5c HOBR ATTORNEYS April 7, 1942. H. scHoRER 27,399

MANHOLE DEVICE Filed Nov.`25, 1938 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR HERMAN ASchio/ER d' ATTORNEYS April 7, 1942. H. scHoRER v 2,278,899

MANHOLE DEVICE Filed Nov. 25, 1938 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 c Egg@ lNvENToR v ATTORNEYS HERMAN cHoREm.

. clamped in position.

PatentedA Apr. 7,1942

UNITEDA STATES. PATENT ortica MANHOLE DEVICE Herman Schoi'er, Valhalla., N. Y., .assignor te Borsari Tank Corporation of America, New York, N. Y., acorporation of Delaware Application November 25, 1938, Serial No. 242,192

- sure arising within such tanks and;l at the same 1 Claim.

The present invention relates to a door device and particularly a manhole device particularly to permit access to various types of tanks, cisterns,

reservoirs, and so forth.

Although the present invention will bevparticularly described in its application to cisterns, tanks or reservoirs utilized in the fermentation and storage of beer and processing of malt beverages, it is obvious that it has a much wider application and may be generally employed in connection with many types of enclosures where access is desired at intervals for cleaning and checking purposes.

In the usual type of manhole devices utilized in connection with beer tanks, it is Acustomary to utilize an elliptical opening and to provide an elliptical rigid metal cover on the inside of such elliptical opening which cover is vhinged and moved, the cover can be removed through the elliptical opening in the side of the tank.

Furthermore, these'metal elliptical covers are quite heavy and often damage the tank in being removed or being placed' in vposition therein and also are subject to breakage. Furthermore the elliptical -covers are difllcult tcmachine. necessi- When the clamp is re-v tating the use of expensive specially.4 designed machinery and tools.

In addition these elliptical covers do'not'most satisfactorily seal the manhole opening because without specially designed machinery Another object is to provide an improved manhole door or cover for beer tanks and` othery similar purposes which may be readily dise mantled o r removed, without much manual labor and without much diiliculty and without they Y the opening.

'upon such bolts andy screws as might result in cracking of the door and slight leakages between the manhole door or'cover and the opening of the frame. y

Other objects will be obvious or will appear during the course of the following specification. In accomplishing the above objects, it has been found most satisfactory to'provide a shell manhole door of circular contour or with a circular periphery which may be made of relatively light sheet metal stock.

Although this sheet metal stockl may be made very thin` and still. give satisfactory'results, it is usually not thinner, for example, than one sixteenth of an inch to permit of welding and making connections thereto. -This thin sheet metal shell, cover, or door which preferably is -convexed or domed outwardly from the tank, contacts with the inner periphery of the manhole opening by means of a stiffening'ring and is interiorly provided with a The above and other objects will appear more clearly from the following detailed description which when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, will illustrate preferred embodiments of the inventive idea.

necessity of handling and manipulating relatively y heavy elliptical door or cover constructions.

Other objects will be obvious or will appear during the course of the following specification.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a relatively inexpensive light weight manhole door construction for-beer storage tanks which will be liquid and gas tight at all times and will be capable of withstanding any presrangement and maybe readily manufactured 10 Referring to lthe drawings:

Figure 1 is a front view of the outside of the manhole door or cover when the device is clamped in closed position withrportions thereof broken away more clearly to show the construction.

Figure 2 is a transverse .sectional view upon the Vline 2-2 of Figure 1 showing the detailed l construction of the device.

Figure 2Ais a fragmentary sectional view upon the line 2A-2A oi Figure 2, showing a detail of the hinge construction; y

Figures 3 to? are diagrammatic views lupon a somewhat smaller scale than Figure 2 illustrating the manner of removal of the manhole door or cover; Figure 3 illustrating the device illustrating the openeddoor or cover; Figure illustrating the removal of the door or cover from ,its pivot mount and Figures 6 and 'l being side a tank structure A having a manhole opening Bl upon one side of which is positioned the flexible sheet metal cover C having the hinge mount D.

The main spider or yoke E is provided with a hinge mount F and cooperates with the small spider or yoke G and the clamping device H to hold the cover B in clamped position.

Referring specifically to Figure 2, the beer tank in the embodiment shown-has a concrete or cementitious wall structure ID which is exteriorly covered by a cement layer I I and a tile facing I2.

The interior of the wall A is covered with a composition facing I3. Within the concrete IU is embodied the anchor bolts I4 having the return bend end portions I5 and having the threaded ends I6 which are threaded into tapped openings in the bosses II which extend peripherally around the anchor frame I8 for the manhole opening B.

This manhole door frame I8 maybe made of a brewers bronze casting, while the anchor bolts or rods I4 may be made of steel.

-The frame I8 is provided withdown turned .1;

The inside flange 420 carries grooved extension 1 member 22 which embraces the edge of the composition facing I3.

At one side of the opening B there are positioned the through bolts 23 enclosed in the sleeves 24, which sleeves 24 are held in position by the ilanges 25. The bolts 23 are threaded at their outer ends into the mounts 26 and 56 (see also Figure 1) for the main yoke structure E and at their inner ends they are threaded into the mount 21 for the inside hinge structure D.

The inside double hinge structure D as best shown in Figures 2 and 2A, consists of an extension 28 within which is provided a slot 29 receiving the pin 30. The other hinge structure D is positioned directly opposite and is cut off by the concaved or convexed thin sheet metal cover C Both the shell C and the arm 32 are preferably made of brewers bronze.

As indicated, the shell or cover C is provided with an inturned periphery or stiflening ring 35 within which a Wire or rod 35a may be enclosed. The gasket 36 is pressed against the flange 28 of the'liner I8 by the beaded edge35.

It will be noted by reference to Figure 2 that the beaded edge 35 and the gasket 36 project just beyond the inside diameter of the shell I8 so that there will be assurance that the rubber gasket 36 will be clamped rmly in position to form an air tight and liquid tight seal.

The metal of the shell or cover, as indicated in Figure 2, will project substantially half way through the opening B. In the central portion thereof, it has an opening which receives the threaded shank 4I) having an enlarged head 4I abutting the inside of the shell C and clamped in position by the nut 42.

The shank 40 .continues into the cylindrical portion 43 which in turn is threaded at 44 and tapped at 45. The tapped portion 45 receives the adjustable stop bolt or screw 46 which is held in position by the lock nut 41 and limits the extent to which the hand `wheel 48 may be screwed up upon the threaded shank 44. l

The Wheel 48 which forms part of the clamping structure H as best shown in Figure 1, has a plurality of radial tie members 49 and has a tapped cup 50, the bottom of said cup abutting the short spider member G at its central eye portion 50a. It will be noted that the shank 43 also extends through said eye portion 50a.

From the sides of the eye portion 50a of the yoke member G extends the extension members 5I having the upturned end portions 52 which are held in position by the projections or bosses 53 upon the arms 54 of the main spider member or yoke E.

These arms 54 come together at 55 and at this point they abut the inturned flange I9 of the shell I8.

The rear of the arms are attached at 56 to a sleeve 51 Which is mounted upon a yoke bolt 58 having the hexagonal head 60. The end of the yoke bolt 58 extends through the eyes 26 and 59. The eye 26 is carried by the bolt 23, as shown in Figure il, while the eye 59 is carried by a mount 6 I.

When the manhole cover 'C is closed the wheel 48 may be screwed down until limited by the stop bolt 46 or until arm connection is formed at which time the gasket 38 will be firmly clamped against the interior periphery of the shell I8 by the beaded member 35. t

When the cover is closed the position of the various parts will be, as indicated in Figure 3.

When it is .desired to remove the cover, the hand wheel 48 is first loosened, and the spider element G is removed from the main spider element E, as shown in Figure 4.

The hinge construction D is then disengaged, as shown in Figure 5 and the cover is removed through the opening B, as shown -in Figures 6 and 7. The shell C being slightly flexible, may be bent into the solid line position of Figure 7 from the dotted line position of Figure 7 because of its resiliency.

When the device is reassembled, the shell C is reinserted into the interior of the tank in the manner indicated in Figures 6 and 7, the hinge construction D is reengaged, the spider elements E and G are placed against one another and the clamping device H is tightened.

The present device is of particular value in that it provides a relatively inexpensive structure which will provide a readily removable cover with round manholes, whichwill give maximum strength and may be most readily constructed in the tanks or cisterns in which the liquid is fermented, stored or contained.

Although of relatively thin stock, the shell element C will withstand pressures ranging from 30 to 60 or more pounds per square inch without danger of leakageand there will be no danger of the shell cover C cracking off the periphery of the structure or permitting a slight leakage between the frame and the periphery of the cover, oven When clamped tightly in position.

By making the door of elliptical cross section, as for example, as particularly shown in Figure 2, assurance is had that vthe door C will withstand pressures without breaking or becoming dislodged at its periphery from the gasket 36. 'I'here will be no tendency for the door C to belly out as would occur if it were flat and transverse tion and not by way of limitation and that the structures above described are subject to wide variation and modification without departing from the scope or intent of the invention, all of which variations and modifications are to be included within the scope of the present invention.

What is claimed is:

In a tank, a manhole construction comprisinga circular shell forming the periphery of said hole, a round domed flexible sheet metal door of semielliptical cross section at one wside of said shell anda clamping device atv the other side of said shell connected to the center of said door, and bolts extending outside of and parallelly to said manhole having hinge mounts for said door and clamping device.

HERMAN SCHORER. 

